EOS Documentation Project
| EDP Home |
| Who |
| Manuals |
| Legal |
| Links |
| Join |
| Credits |
Cable Release
Contents
Introduction
Fed up with the cost of a separate custom release cord for each of your cameras? Think Canon might be charging you too much for their little T3 Cable Release Adapter? Can't find a remote cord for your favorite film or digital camera? Or did it just disappear in the bottom of that camera bag of yours?
Here's an option for most of the cameras you own. It recycles the shutter button from some old camera that you once thought the best thing since Argus made the Brick. Other than that you just need, a cable release, and a few odds and ends retrieved from your stash of interesting stuff.
Cable Release
I took a nylon strap, burned a hole through it, and pushed a shutter button from a defunct Canon QL-19 through from the underside with the top sticking out. The shutter button is just held on by friction, and has a flange on the bottom, keeping it from sliding all the way through.
Glue would have worked just as well. I then sewed "Velcro" hook-and-loop fasteners on to the ends so that it can be adjusted to fit other cameras.
It works fairly well as is, but if I was to improve it, I would put something less slippery on the inside of the strap near the shutter button to keep it from sliding off so easily. That or just make the strap from some non-slippery leather. Something softer on the end of the shutter release cable would be nice too, but I'm not sure how to go about attaching it and still being able to remove the cable.
Conclusion
The idea is not original. Porters Camera and EOS Magazine sell a commercial version that is somewhat similar. When I saw them, I decided I could make one easily enough.
http://porters.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=10
0754
http://www.eos-magazine.com/Sales_Switch.html
Images
Revision History
0.1 js: Original draft; edits
Comments
When I made myself something similar, I found that the metal cable tended to scratch the plastic of the shutter release button. So I added a plastic "tongue" as a type of cushion. The plastic was either a piece of film leader (which is a bit too brittle), or a piece cut from overhead transparency or blister packaging.Julian Loke 12/9/2004 12:39:29 PM
Wow! Thats such a good idea! - i agree about the slippability though - I'm using a loose fitting rubber-band instead which seems to work well. The wider the better.
Thanks :)
Pete 2005Oct09 14:29:34 -0700
It's actually not too hard to make an electronic cable release to plug into your camera's cable release socket. I was able to put together one for my EOS50 and EOS500 a few years ago. It simply uses a 2.5mm stereo plug (from memory) and a couple of switches. The shutter is triggered by a combination of the conductors making contact (I can't remember exactly which ones but if you play around with it you'll get the right combination) the remote switch does not require it's own power (at least for that model). I assume this can be costructed for all other EOS models although I think some of the older ones (including the EOS1n) use a proprietory connector. If you could find a plug that fitted I'm sure the same device would work.
Daniel 2006Jan03 04:10:13 -0800
Here are instructions for an electronic shutter/focus control: http://www.chantalcurrid.com/remoteControl.htm and http://www.doc-diy.net/photo/eos_wired_remote/
Jan 2009Jan05 11:45:43 -1000
© 2004Dec07 Jim Strutz for EOS Documentation Project. All Rights Reserved.
Redistribution of any EDP document, text, image, or code, or any work derived therefrom, in any form, electronic or printed, is not allowed without prior written permission from EDP.
Copyright notices, including this notice, must remain intact.
Use of this document constitutes agreement to our
terms and conditions.